whoever you are. now? if you have a cocktail in your hand, or you are about to find a couple, i want you to find david from the laborers. all the drinks tonight are being brought to you by laborers 261. let's give them a big round of applause. [applause] they are responsible for your hangovers. let's begin this great award. i first want to introduce cory, who is doing

-- ok, we're having our first technical difficulty. i want to bring up corey marshall, who has done all the work that goes into the mfac award and the great government consulting as they pick the products to bring a lot of innovation to san francisco. cory? give cory a round of applause. [applause] >> thank you, chris. thank you so much for all of your hard work, chris. none of this could be possible without your efforts. good evening. the good government awards are incredibly important in san francisco. it's a chance for us to honor the tremendous work that happens in the city and also to honor the individuals who are responsible for some of that success. congratulations to all of our honorees. we're very grateful for your work.

let's give a hand for them. [applause] the good government awards also support spur's good government work. it is a central part of our mission. our agenda is admittedly ambitious. we analyze every local measure on the san francisco ballot, which until recently was a pretty formidable task. we participate in most of the major issues of city government from pension and payroll tax reform to some of the most important discussions on how we fund a lot of our public services, whether that finding different revenue streams for our parks, are trying to find new ways to fund public transportation in the city. we're very happy to be working with mayor lee and the board to address a lot of these issues. this will clearly be a busy year for us. another component of our work is connecting the city's robuspro o

assistance with our many business partners. this is a core part of mfac original purpose in san francisco. we are focused on building this capacity once again. as everyone here knows, the nature of how cities are doing business is changing. fundamentally. costly federal and state mandates continue to squeeze local budgets. increasing costs are forcing discussions about how we provide services. technology is requiring that we move more quickly than we have in a long time. building a network of partners to support our city government at this time will be more important than ever and will be critical as we were to emerge from the recession. we have a real opportunity here. we also have a real responsibility to help investment and success of our city. spur is committed to making this happen. we hope that all of you join us as we work to leverage a lot of these partnerships once again. spur is a nonprofit. member-supported think tank in

san francisco committed to the success of the city in all its forms. many of you are already members. can we get a show of hands of spur members? that's fantastic. thank you so much for your continued support of our organization. without your help, none of this would be possible. for those of you who are not yet members, i hope you'll join us and get involved. roll up your sleeves and really get involved in the nuts and bolts of the city. we can all work together to engage the city so we can all succeed together. we're all investors in this town. thank you very much for all of your support and for joining us this evening. it is now my pleasure to introduce wade rose, the chair of the 2012 good government awards. wade? [applause] >> thank you, cory. appreciate it. good evening, everyone, and

welcome to the 32nd annual good government awards. 32 years. finding people to give awards do because there are a lot of people who are dedicated to making sure that would we all get up in the morning, there's a road to drive on, and the water is clean, the city hums. it takes all of you, it takes all of us, to make sure that happens. that is 24/7 every day of the year. it is a huge undertaking. dignity health -- see if i can find my paper here. dignity held, as some of you know, formally known as catholic healthcare west. we've changed our name about a month ago. we have been in the city about as long as did the government. about 1854. we represent a handful of

organizations which are still in san francisco operating continually over 150 years to provide all of us service. in our case, its health care at st. francis and st. mary's hospital. our familiarity with the county and government starts from the very day that the sisters of mercy, who came over from ireland, got off on a clipper ship down by north beach. within a day, they got a knock on their door where they were staying. it was members of the san francisco board of supervisors who came to ask them to open san francisco general hospital, which they did. they ran it for four years until a very familiar thing happened, and that was the county board of

supervisors had a dispute about how to pay health care bills. the sisters said we've had enough of that and went on to create st. mary's hospital. as you can see, very familiar with how the city works. even then, over 150 years. it is an important issue. we're glad to be able to provide it. we're glad to be able to be here and to recognize some super creative people and the super creative programs. the committee which reviewed folks and review projects had a tough time picking who should be chosen and who should be recognized. the list is fantastic. spur, of course, has worked for years and sponsor of this good government awards for a long time to make sure that the

folks that work so hard that do not get recognized every day -- you do get recognized. firstly, from the business community, i want to say how proud we are to have you and how proud we are for the work all of you do. now i am honored to introduce someone who personifies what the awards are all about. dedicated civil servant. a person who has won a good government award before. it was going to be our mayor lee. ed has been pulled off by one of those things that pulls you off at a moment's notice. ed phoned and said he wanted the head of the department of human resources, a mickey callahan, to represent him tonight. i would like to introduce mickey

callahan. [applause] >> i am sorry not to be ed lee. i did not have enough time to grow a mustache. i pass along to you the mayor's regret at not being here tonight. he is a strong supporter of this program. he is very familiar with the incredible work that spur does with the city, because of his work as a city administrativor,a lot of us from his vantage point of the mayor's office. i would like to recognize the department heads and elected officials. i know i've seen some of you here. thank you for coming out to support the fund workover our city employees. it is a privilege to me in particular to be here because i have had the opportunity for the last several years to be on the selection committee for the good

government awards. it is really a treat. as a human-resources director, i get a lot of bad news. some of that gets in the newspaper. with all due respect to our brethren in the press, it's always a good story to write about bad behavior that may happen in a city department or that a public employee may have engaged in. we are the largest employer in san francisco. it is only natural as some of that bad behavior may fall on our doorsteps. it is refreshing to see some of the wonderful work people are doing, who really personify the ethos of san francisco. i want to celebrate that. on behalf of the mayor, thank you. please do your part to extend your appreciation to those people.

it was a very difficult process. the community members who are involved in the selection process, as we know, we had great nominees. we were forced to decide between a very compelling nominations. i think something they all have in common is a dedication to the city. in my work, i've spent some time occasionally looking at h.r. documents, including studies on what motivates people. i have a post-it on my computer that says "mastery, but autonomy, and purpose." what they're finding at the higher levels of employee, what motivates people is not the almighty dollar, but these three principles. mastery, been technically proficient in your area. it is economy, where you are able to take initiative, operate

within a zone that has been broad enough for you to use your creativity. it is purpose. purpose on behalf of the people of san francisco. i think all of the nominees that we are honoring tonight are motivated by these principles. i want to thank the department heads who have employed them. they allow these people to flourish, to be an autonomous, and move forward in a way that benefits the people of san francisco. we think the best and brightest should be in city government. the people here tonight are proof that they are. finally, i want to mention a very meaningful thing for me to be here tonight on the night we are giving a lifetime of work to ed harrington. [applause] when i arrived in san francisco

coming out of state employment some six years ago or so, ed was very generous in giving me advice. to say -- i will call. why are we doing this? who can i ask this question of? if i think it may have political implications or just to bounce it off him, he always has great devicadvice. personal thanks to ed harrington, as well. i will turn it back over to r m our emcee. >> a big round of applause. [applause] >> all right. thank you also my pleasure to introduce president of our board of supervisors, supervisor

david chu. >> good government. evening. it's my honor to welcome you to our local version of the academy awards for city government. yes, please give it up. i think our awardees look absolutely stunning tonight. i want to welcome you all to city hall. thank you for joining us in celebrating good government, celebrating san francisco. opera iit is often said that as goes san francisco, goes california. as those california, so goes the rest of the country. i want to thank the awardees tonight and all of our civil servants when you are helping us how to figure out how to better manage our parks, r-texas, to figure out how we deliver our water.

we are setting in example truly to the rest of the world. i want to thank spur. i know that the best ideas in city government do not come from the politicians. they come from all of you. i want to thank spur for helping to convene not just the smartest people in san francisco, but the smartest people from around the world to help us figure out how to innovate. it is my honor to introduce the first award thee of this evenin. this is a very unique award. this is the lifetime achievement award. mfac has to select one individual out of 26,000 who best exemplifies what service is to our city. when i was first elected to office, i asked a lot of people, literally hundreds of people, who is the smartest person in

government. with all due respect to the other smart people in this room, there was one name that came up over and over again. that was our awardee. whenever i have a question that was difficult to answer, i would ask my staff, who are we going to call? the same name always came up. it was our awardee. i'm going to tell a story that has not yet been told publicly, but i'm going to share it today. in late 2010, when the board of supervisors, when we were casting around for someone to play the role upon interim mayor, and when ed lee was still telling us he did not want to serve, i invited this man to my kitchen table, as did a number of my colleagues, to convince him. tonight we honor the career of a man who has served our city for 28 years, who has left us a legacy of which he and the

entire city can be proud of. tonight, we celebrate the lifetime achievement of ed harrington. [applause] >> you really have to believe. i will give you my trust. i will give you this authority, but you need to take care of us. that's your job. that is the important challenge. >> 20 eight years is a long time working for any place. i loved working for the city. two things come to mind as biggest accomplishments. one is, just keeping the place running. it's a pretty big accomplishment. if i had to pick one big thing, it would be helping to create the department of aging and adult services. we recognize people who were elderly or having to go to four different offices in the city. we changed it into one department with no wrong door.

if you need those kind of services, you can come here. the way city government should work. it was a great thing to happen. i like to solve puzzles. i like to take things that do not work and figure out how to make them work. when i got there, it was the place you went to get a no- answer. if you are thinking about a place to go in san francisco, you have a place to move something forward. you go to the co ntroller's office. there are no more important things that government does been water, sewer, and power. coming here was a great choice. a got all excited again about government and doing work. i've always had the view that all work is honorable. it does not matter what level you are at. if you are getting something done, that's a good place to be.

you're looking at folks who have really stepped up. they have taken risks. they have made differences in lives and the work of the city. you do not stop and thank people often enough. you did not just to the regular job. you did more than that. you did it very well. that is so important for the business community. i was born and raised here. it is home. it ihas always felt a comfortable place to live. it's part of my life. [applause] >> i want to -- here we go. [applause] this is the second time in our entire history we have given this award. thank you, ed harrington. >> thank you very much.

thank you, david, for the nice introduction, and to mfac and spur for the award. when someone wants to give you a lifetime achievement award -- are you [laughter] dead] it is a nice thing to think. i want to congratulate the other awardees and also the other nominees. i was nominated for this award several years ago and never won it. it is kind of like the academy awards. i have been extraordinarily fortunate in city government to have two of the best jobs anyone could ever have, the controller and the head of utilities for the city and county of san francisco. the rally has been a labor of love. i have enjoyed the substance of the job, the topics we engage in, but much more than that, the

people. you have such incredibly smart, creative, wonderful, talented people that work for the city and county of san francisco who are so committed to public service and so intent on making sure we serve the people who come here and visit and the people who live here. it's a wonderful group to spend the last 28 years of my life with. i'd like to thank everybody in the room. i cannot quite do that. i do want to make sure i recognize one person 3 without him, i would not be here at all. my partner and my husband of 38 years, stan. [applause] if i could say one more thing about management. you have to have a vision to know where you want to go. you have to the goals to figure out if you are accomplishing something or not. without good management, that

all tends to fall by the wayside. to paraphrase an old song, without good government, it is like sitting in a rocking chair. it keeps you moving, but you go nowhere. with that, i want to thank spur and mfac. it is so important to recognize the people in the city that are so good and so creative and reward them and celebrate that good management. keep moving the city forward, folks. [applause]

>> but it is not going to get this award next year. [laughter] technical difficulties. be patient. enjoy that fabulous bar. i just love landscaping. i grew up in a landscaping business. i learned to appreciate the outdoors. coming to rec and park was a natural transition. i started in may of 1998. i came in as a gardener and worked with the turf crew. i manage approximately 7,000

acres and i supervise 75 to 85 people under my direct supervision. i am responsible for eight parks more or less. every day that i stepped out, i feel so fortunate and very lucky to work for an organization with so many different properties. each one is its own gem. harding park is one of the gems of the city. opened in the 1930's. cypress trees and rolling hills. a very well designed golf course. we've had a very successful presidents cup. the amount of spectators that it drawls, everyone from around the world -- seeing the course on television and the quality of

work -- it is very impressive to me that we can do that on the public level. i have an extremely dedicated crew that worked with me. there's not a moment that i'm not proud of everything i see out there and all the hard work. i am very honored to receive an award. i feel very fortunate to have people that will go above and beyond. it is due to their hard work and their efforts that they put on ain on a day-to-day basis. [applause] >> hi, everybody. i'm the general manager of san francisco's recreation and park department. it's my incredible pleasure and honor to introduce you are mfac award winner, steve, ste castil.

>> i would like to thank spur and mfac. thank you for this honor. being selected to receive such a prestigious award is such a great honor, but i think even greater considering all the top candidates. when i graduated from uc-davis, i learned the theory of being a manager. i needed something to show the reality but i quickly learned the best way to acquire these skills was to watch and work with senior managers in the rec and park department. i've been fortunate to work with three outstanding managers. they were instrumental in my growth as a manager. i thank them. another ingredient needed to be a successful manager is to have a great team. my supervisory team -- may have

been instrumental in the golf and turf operations by completing tasks to the highest standards possible of any group of people i've ever seen. i would also like to thank the gardening staff, the teamsters, the operating engineers, everyone who makes my operation possible, even down to the local vendors and everyone that keeps my organization running. thank you. as you all know, san francisco has hosted premier events, the charles schwab cup, the recent nfc championship games. these events put san francisco on a national stage. every employee, supervisor stepped up and made both events extremely successful. it was transparent to the attendees and the television viewers that there was a third team out there. that was the recreation and parks department.

it is extremely proud of my team. add to this one of the most beautiful park systems in the world. i am extremely lucky. lastly, i want to thank my parents and my wife, vivian, and my two daughters, jennifer and some of the, for their love and support. thank you. [applause] >> steve castile. [applause] >> i started working for the public works department 15 years ago. we are like a family. it is a very close-knit group.

i think, because of that, we get the best out of people. one of the problems we encountered in the city was we were not able to pay our vendors and contractors. people were entering data inconsistently. documents were always getting lost. payments were not going out. the numbers do not add up. everything has to flow horizontal and vertical leap. we created several modules to make it easier for contractors to attach the documents in a standardized format. we do not have to go deeper anymore. i don't have a formal education in i.t., however, i have deployed some systems when i was working for the industry, and i brought in young, energetic staff to help. we implemented